Alumni Connections

Kulwant Singh Bardh, ’05 (AXP-4), was named CEO Asia Pacific of Bangalore and Singapore-based Knolskape, which uses experiential learning products and platforms to help organizations attract, grow, and retain talent.

Kevin C. Grogan, ’01, was appointed CEO of the Flexible Packaging business of DS Smith Plastics, a division of Romeoville, Illinois-based DS Smith Plc, a plastics and packaging multinational organization.

Dustin Lyman, ’09, was promoted CFO of Broomfield, Colorado-based Famous Brands International, the parent company for Mrs. Fields Cookies and TCBY Yogurt.

Jon Winkelried, AB ’81, MBA ’82, was named co-CEO of the global private investment firm TPG Capital. Winkelried previously served as the president and co-chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs. He was a University of Chicago trustee from 2006 to 2012.

Joseph F. Eazor, ’90, was appointed to the board of directors of Commvault, a Tinton Falls, New Jersey–based data management company. He is CEO of Atlanta-based EarthLink Holdings Corp., a network, security, and cloud solutions provider.

Howard M. Heitner, MBA ’82,JD ’82, a 35-year veteran of the affordable housing, legal, and financial industries, joined the advisory board of Irvine, California-based WNC, a national investor in real estate and community development initiatives.

Steven B. Schwarzwaelder, ’80, was elected to the board of directors of Norwalk, Connecticut-based EMCOR Group Inc., which provides mechanical and electrical construction services, industrial and energy infrastructure, and building services.

Steve G. Stevanovich, BS ’84, MBA ’90, was one of eight new members appointed to the UChicago Argonne LLC board of governors, which manages the Argonne National Laboratory for the US Department of Energy’s Office of Science. He is the founder, president, and CEO of SGS Global Holdings, which holds investments in technology companies.

Wendell M. Brooks, ’91, will take over the presidency of Intel Capital in January. He will oversee “one of the largest corporate venture arms in the world,” in addition to Intel’s mergers and acquisitions unit, according to the Wall Street Journal. “I love coming to work every day,” he told the Journal.

Daniel P. Caruso, ’90, CEO of Boulder, Colorado-based Zayo Group Holdings Inc., which provides bandwidth infrastructure services, was awarded a Gold Stevie Award for executive of the year in the telecommunications category at the 13th Annual American Business Awards. The Stevie Awards were created in 2002 to recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.

Philip B. Clement, MBA ’93, AM ’93, chief marketing officer of Aon plc, was one of four winners of the 2015 CMO Leadership Award. The London-based company is a leading global provider of risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human resources solutions, and outsourcing services.

Adam B. Cohen, ’00 (XP-69), was named deputy under secretary for science and energy in Washington, DC. He was previously deputy director for operations at the US Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.

Patrice P. DeCorrevont, ’89, joined Wells Fargo & Co. as a division manager in the government and institutional banking division. She was most recently senior vice president and managing director for JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Arnold W. Donald, ’80, was honored by the Propeller Club of the US Port of New Orleans as the 2015 Maritime Person of the Year in October. Donald is president and CEO of Carnival Corp. & plc.

ReNew Power Ventures, a leading renewable energy projects developer in India, announced that it raised $265 million following a fresh round of equity funding. Ajay Kumar Goel, ’00, is president of solar and chief new businesses at ReNew Power Ventures.

Kurt Hoff, ’85, was appointed senior vice president of worldwide sales at Irvine, California-based Conexant Systems Inc., an audio and imaging innovation leader. Hoff was most recently senior vice president of worldwide sales at Silicon Laboratories Inc.

Kenneth K. Ho, ’93, was appointed managing partner of Carret Private Ltd., which is the new international business arm of Carret Holdings Inc.—the parent of New York–based investment manager Carret Asset Management LLC.

Kunal Kapoor, ’04, was named president of Chicago-based investment research company Morningstar. He has been at the firm since 1997.

Ross W. Manire, ’76, president and CEO of Lisle, Illinois-based ExteNet Systems, said he was honored when his company received a 2015 Chicago Innovation Award in the communications category. The company designs, builds, owns, and operates distributed networks for use by wireless carriers and venues in key markets.

Ronald L. McDaniel, ’77 (XP-38), a native of Richmond, Indiana, was honored by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Wayne County. He is the president and majority owner of Western-Cullen-Hayes Inc., which manufactures railroad-grade crossing warning devices and other track safety products in Richmond and Chicago. In 1995, he incorporated the Ronald L. McDaniel Foundation, which supports nonprofits, including: Ivy Tech Community College, Earlham College, University of Dayton, and organizations in the Chicago area.

“It’s about building things the right way for the long haul,” said Scott S. Murray, ’81, CTO of Chicago-based asset manager Northern Trust, in a profile in the magazine WatersTechnology, about the importance of setting the firm up for success.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, ’97, unveiled a program to work with more than 50 start-ups as partners to help “smart cities” explore solutions to burgeoning urban problems in India, according to the Times of India.

Jeffrey R. Seaver, AB ’94, MBA ’00, was named managing director on the institutional sales team at Dallas-based investment adviser Highland Capital Management L.P. He was previously managing director, Europe, Middle East and Africa at investment management firm Loomis Sayles & Co. L.P. and co-head of the firm’s London office.

Four Peaks Wealth Management, where Arthur K. Selender, MBA ’85, PhD ’93, is chief investment officer, was featured in The Arizona Daily Sun. The major partners in the firm started the Flagstaff, Arizona-based company because they wanted to create a local independent financial firm they could recommend, according to the article.

Eric C. Smith, ’93, was named director of US sales at iPoint, a software and consulting services firm for environmental and social product compliance and sustainability. Most recently, Eric worked for San Francisco–based enterprise compliance software company Foresite Systems, where he served in sales management.

Dan Sokol, ’87, is a managing director and senior credit officer at Citi Private Bank. Based in Los Angeles, California, he is in charge of the west coast tailored loan portfolio for Citi Private Bank’s ultra-high net worth clients.

TPG Capital’s co-CEO Jon Winkelried, AB ’81, MBA ’82, was among the backers in a $30 million funding round for CircleUp Network, an online platform for investing in private retail and consumer businesses, according to BloombergBusiness.

“There's a lot of seed money, but not a lot beyond that,” said Bill E. Wolf, ’90, a partner in new Chicago-based venture capital fund KDWC Ventures, in an article in Crain’s Chicago Business. “We think this fills a hole in the marketplace.”

Randall S. Wright, ’81, senior liaison officer with MIT’s Industrial Liaison Program, received the Austrian Decoration of Honor in Gold at a reception at the Austrian Embassy in Washington, DC. Wright has served as liaison officer for the Austrian Federal Trade Commission for the past 20 years and has been instrumental in strengthening ties between MIT and Austria.

Pedro Cervera, ’12 (EXP-17), was appointed managing director of organizational development of Spanish bank Ibercaja. He also joined Endeavor Global, a nonprofit organization that promotes high-impact entrepreneurship, as a mentor.

"We're trying to synthesize [the data] and make it understandable," said Dylan Hall, ’13, of Schoolhound, a school-ratings platform for Illinois schools, according to the website ChicagoInno. He cofounded the system with Shima Rayej, ’13.

Ben Johnson, ’09, was hired as partner and head of portfolio construction at Summit Trail Advisors, an independent advisory firm with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco.

“The new flagship location really brings our curated app experience to life, and allows our customers to discover and interact with the city’s best food and drink in a more meaningful way,” said Michael N. LaVitola, ’14, CEO and cofounder of Chicago-based curated delivery company Foxtrot, in an article on the website ChicagoInno. Launched out of the Edward L. Kaplan, ’71, New Venture Challenge, the company announced $1.1 million in funding along with the new West Loop location, which will be Foxtrot’s second brick and mortar store.

Navin J. Manjooran, ’14 (XP-83), was recognized for his outstanding contribution in engineering by the Indian American Kerala Cultural and Civic Center. He is global director, energy, for Munich-based industrial manufacturer Siemens AG.

Kelsey Martin, ’13, who studied at the US Naval Academy and served in the Navy, was featured in a Business Insider article about US military veterans now working on Wall Street.

Chris Kang Mironov, ’12, penned an article for the LinkedIn website about her first three months as chief of staff to Pat Wadors, senior vice president of the Global Talent Organization at LinkedIn.

Eric Olson, ’11, was recently named director, member experience and operations and was appointed to the executive team of Chicago-based ContextMedia:Health, a digital media and technology company focused on improving health outcomes for patients across the US.

Avi Rapaport, MBA ’13, PhD ’14, was hired as financial adviser to the chairman of the board for the Swiss financial services firm UBS AG in Zurich.

Shan Saeed, ’09 (AXP-8), chief economist, IQI Group Holding, spoke at a conference about the Association of Southeast Asian Nations integration and its impact on the business community.

Buffalo, New York–based Energy Intelligence, cofounded by CEO Daniel Shani, ’12, won $100,000 as overall winner of the Rise of the Rest pitch competition, according to the website Buffalo Rising. The company is developing a road-mounted system that harnesses the energy from braking vehicles to generate electricity at high-volume traffic sites such as parking garages and tollbooths.